Thanks For The Memories
by AdminRaptor
Summary: A story about what happened after Yomi lost his sight. How did he obtain power? Who helped him? How about some romance? Told from the point of view of an OC. Bear with me here. I'm not good at summaries.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, nor the characters. Please rate and/or review! -AdminRaptor

[Chapter 1:]

I "met" Yomi while bathing in a hot spring. It wasn't exactly a hand-shaking introduction of acquaintances. Far from that really. I wasn't alone either. A former acquaintance was with me. I can't remember her name now. We pretty well lost contact after the "Yomi incident."

It was late. I'd sunk down under the water to soak my hair. When I arose, it was her scream that was my first hint that this bath wasn't exactly going to be normal. My second hint was the sound of a man stumbling, then splashing into the hot spring with us. Nameless Acquaintance ran off immediately, trying to drag me away too, but I pulled away from her grip. What can I say? I was curious. First, there was a complete stranger-a man no less!-second, he wasn't even attempting to chase us, and third, he had blood on his face, one of his arms, and his clothes.

Yes, I realize that if this had been a horror film, I'd have been the first character to die a gruesome death.

I moved forward slowly. His eyes were closed, and he was clearly freaking out. His arms moved about, as if he were trying to follow the ground. He was only about knee-deep in the warm water, being that he was sitting on a rock. I, on the other hand, was waist-deep.

Did I care that I was naked in front of this man? Part of me did, but I (oddly) didn't feel threatened. Was he blind? It looked like it. Even if I had felt threatened before, I definitely didn't after that realization.

I reached out to grab one of his arms and shrieked when he attempted to strike me-missing with a margin of about two planets. "Whoa! Hey! Not trying to hurt you! Stop!" I dodged more attempts.

"Stop!" Dodge.

"Trying!" Dodge.

"To!" Dodge.

"Hit!" Dodge.

"Me!" Dodge.

I grabbed the wrist connected to the fist that was flying toward me. So now I had one arm and one wrist in my hands. Surely, I thought, now he'd slow down. Wouldn't you think the same thing? Clearly, though, I'd never met Yomi.

During this struggle, he was still in a sitting position. Well, it was at this point that he began to stand, and, Oh Jesus, he was fucking tall. (It didn't help that he was on a rock and was already in a higher position than me). So instead of letting go of his arm and wrist-what? I worked damn hard to get them!-I held on until he raised them, lifting me off my feet and out of the water.

"Give me one good reason that I shouldn't throw you!" he spat.

Now, I could have said something along the lines of, "because it won't affect me that much and I'll just be right back over here." Or I could have said, "Okay, I'll let go!" I could even have said, "I can't think of one, good Sir. Perhaps we could start over?" But I did come up with the next best thing-okay, it was the first thing that came into my head so don't you judge me:

"Because I'm a naked woman?" Pow! Right in the sex drive! I must have thrown him for a pretty good loop since I found myself back in the water and he sat back down.

"That's better."

"You can let go of my arms now."

"Promise you won't try to kill me?"

"No."

"Good enough." I let go of his arms, turning my attention to his face. "Do I want to know what happened to your…?"

"Eyes?"

"I was hoping it wasn't that."

An awkward silence settled between us. I didn't have to ask and he didn't have to tell. Whatever had happened to him, the results of it were clear. I moved away, clearly startling him.

"Where are you going?" He reached out. Missed.

"Relax. I'll be right back. I'm just going to get something."

I moved quickly then. Pulling myself out of the hot spring, I jogged to the tree on which my clothes were hanging. After ripping the sleeves from my kimono, I turned and went back into the water, letting one sleeve soak in the water and making sure to keep the other as dry as possible. I climbed onto the rock this blind stranger was sitting on and handed him the dry sleeve.

"Hold on to that, won't you?"

"Why? What is it?"

"You'll see. Can I touch your face?"

"What?"

I didn't answer. Squeezing out the excess water of the soaked sleeve, I pressed it to his cheek, rubbing against the blood in an attempt to clean his face. He didn't protest, nor did he try to stop me. He did flinch a few times and yelled at me for being too rough. I yelled back that I had to be a little rough, or I'd just be petting his face and wouldn't be getting a drop of blood off of it. If it hadn't been dry, it would have probably been easier to get it off. But what could I do? I couldn't go back in time and find it when it was still gushing down his face. So he'd just have to man up and deal. I'd have him wipe his face off with the dry cloth so I could figure out what had and had not been washed off. It took a few rotations of this: Wash. Dry. Check. Finally, I got the last of it.

"Well, your face is clean, but I can't say the same for your clothes. But I gotta say, now that your face isn't covered in blood, you're pretty cute."

"Are you always this subtle?" Sarcasm. I loved it.

"You'll get used to it." I started cleaning off his arm, which didn't take nearly as long. While there was more blood, I didn't have to worry so much about being careful or being too rough. There were no complaints this time around.

When I was finished, I sat back and finally took the time to get a good look at him. His long obsidian hair was drying. He had two horns extending from his forehead, one above each temple. It seemed like there were a couple more on the top of his head just starting to come out. They weren't very long. I assumed that he was young-for whatever kind of demon he was. Speaking of his demonic origins, I never asked. I don't know why. I suppose it just never seemed relevant to anything.

Silence had once again settled. I pulled myself forward so my legs were hanging off the rock. I don't know how long we sat like that. It was a fairly warm night and there wasn't much of a breeze. There was the occasional sound of an animal scampering by, but otherwise, it was relatively quiet. Peaceful. I was just starting to wonder what I was going to do with him when he broke the silence.

"Who are you?" He sounded much calmer than he had been before. I couldn't tell if it was because the water was helping him to relax, or if he'd accepted that I wasn't going to leave. Later, he explained that we'd both been so quiet. he wasn't quite sure I'd been there in the first place and he wanted to make sure he hadn't made me up.

"My name's Rein. Are you cold? It's warmer over here." I gently tugged on his wrist, and he moved forward slowly, his other hand inching along the rock. He allowed his legs to rest over the edge of the rock, in the deeper water. "What's your name?" He told me. I thought his name sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it.

"What do you look like?" he asked, after another few moments of silence. I'd let go of his wrist only for him to have grabbed and held mine. I didn't mind. If it made him feel a bit better or more secure, who was I to complain?

"What do you mean?" I looked at him. He was facing forward.

"What do you look like? What else could I mean?"

"I don't know. I've never really been asked that question." Fearing I'd made him feel bad, I quickly added, "My hair's blonde, my eyes are brown, and I'm shorter than you." He loosened his grip on my wrist and trailed his hand up my arm. I thought he was going to grope me or do something otherwise perverted, and I was pissed. But he didn't. Instead, once he got to my shoulder, he felt for my hair, following it down to where it ended-the center of my back. I shivered from the touch, becoming at least two levels of uncomfortable. I moved his hand. "What are you doing?"

"You didn't tell me it was long."

"Yeah, well, I didn't expect you to…" Was I blushing? Why? Fuck. Oh, well. He couldn't see it. "I didn't expect you to investigate." I pushed myself off the rock, landing in the familiar waist-deep water.

I didn't see him trying to follow me. He wasn't able to judge the length of the jump, and though it wasn't that deep, he must have panicked or something, because all of a sudden, he slammed against me and sent both of us underwater.

His hands moved from my back to my arms and gripped them hard as he stood, pulling us up. I coughed and sputtered, then shoved myself out of his grip and spun, opening my mouth to scream, furious. There were a few things that kept me from doing so, though. First, he was still coughing. Second, he reached for me, even though I'd just pushed him away. It reminded me of a child. Third, a voice scared me half to death.

"Hey, Rein! Get a boyfriend?"

"Raizen!" I spun back around. My white-haired friend laughed. "You scared the shit out of me!"

Raizen stepped into the water, making his way toward the two of us. I realized he wasn't alone. A woman with short green hair was hanging her clothes over the same tree mine hung on. She had an extremely feminine figure, and when she turned to follow Raizen, I realized exactly what Raizen saw in, or rather on her. Her breasts were huge. I refuse to say whether or not I was jealous.

Raizen caught me staring and he grinned proudly. "Kokou. She's a beauty, isn't she?" He wrapped an arm around my neck. I thought I might vomit.

"Ugh! Raizen! You fucking reek!" I pulled away.

He laughed again. "Why do you think we're here? Well, there are other reasons." He winked in Kokou's direction. The two shared a look and I knew that I definitely did not want to stick around.

I grabbed Yomi's wrist, trying to lead him away. Of course Raizen wasn't going to just let that happen. He stepped in front of me. "Wait. You never introduced me to your boyfriend."

Yomi, who had up until this moment been silent, and I both yelled that he was not my boyfriend.

"What's wrong with him, anyway?" Kokou finally spoke, wrapping her arms around Raizen's neck from behind, jumping to wrap her legs around him. I wondered how she managed to do that, considering the mess of Raizen's hair. A mischievous grin spread across Raizen's face and I smirked, knowing what was about to happen. Suddenly, Raizen stretched, and "accidentally" fell backwards, cracking up as he popped up from the water and Kokou was coughing, pissed. Despite his blatant douchebaggery, the two were making out not long after that, and I took that as a pretty good sign that Yomi and I could leave.

Guiding Yomi (not exactly gracefully) out of the hot spring, I pulled my now sleeveless kimono on and pulled on pants underneath it. Then I thought about how I was going to get home. If Yomi walked, it would take forever. He'd be tripping over everything. Ugh. I also didn't feel like stopping to explain why I was leading a blind man around. There was an easier way. The problem was convincing him that it was the best way. I sighed.

"Get on my back."

"What? No!" He let go of my wrist and crossed his arms across his chest. "No." He repeated.

"Look, I don't like it either, but if we're going to get to my place before tomorrow and avoid people asking you what happened or me why I'm helping you, it's the best way-not to mention the fastest. It's getting late, and I want to get home."

"I don't need your help."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?" He didn't respond. "Well, whatever. It was nice knowing you." I started walking away, expecting him to give in-to ask me for help. He didn't. I'm not sure what pissed me off more-the fact that he might be more stubborn than me or the fact that I'd actually gotten used to the idea that I'd be helping out a complete stranger. So when he didn't respond, I turned, went back, and grabbed his arm, leading him further from the hot spring. I tried to ignore the sounds of sex.

Yomi smirked. "What are you doing?"

"Shut up. I'm helping you. Get over it." He laughed. I thought about punching him in the face. Then another idea hit me.

I didn't tell him about any of the bumps or objects in the road. I lost track of the number of times he fell. And anytime someone saw us, I made sure he was the one answering questions, jabbing him in the side when he didn't speak. A few questionings and God-knows-how-many falls later, he pulled on my arm, stopping us both. I couldn't contain my grin.

"What is it, Mr. Yomi?"

"You're a fucking bitch."

"Ooh, you got me!"

He let me carry him. I ran, avoiding both the road and people that might be on it. I still hadn't been able to place why his name sounded familiar. I could have sworn that I'd heard his name before, somewhere. His clothes looked awfully familiar, too. Then it hit me.

Son of a bitch.

I stopped and he got off me. "I'm assuming we're there?"

I ignored him. "So when exactly were you going to tell me you work for Youko Kurama?"

"What? You're just now making that connection?"

I ignored that too. I already knew I was an idiot. "So, is he going to show up? Because I don't have that much worth stealing!" I was yelling. I was pissed. I don't know what kept me from hitting him. "And to think I thought about helping you. Are you even blind or was that a lie?"

He seemed to withdraw a bit prior to responding to me. "Look, I used to work for Youko, yes. But…" He was calmer now. "I don't, anymore." Though his voice was calmer, I wondered if I detected some anger in his words. Anger at himself? Or someone else? And did I believe him? Part of me wanted to. The rest of me wanted to be sure. I will forever regret the moments that followed:

"So you aren't lying. You're really blind."

He nodded.

"Prove it."

"What?"

"You heard me. Open your eyes! Prove it!"

[...]

Spitting out the last of the vomit, I stood, and Yomi let my hair fall. Pulling him back on my back, the walk to my home was silent. Neither of us even looked at the other. No apologies were made, nor accepted. I don't know whether or not I appreciated the silence. I think I was conflicted. On the one hand, we clearly had nothing to say, but on the other hand… We clearly had nothing to say. Does that make sense?

My home was located in a forest, not too far from a village. Put more simply, it was close enough that the walk to the village wasn't really inconvenient, but it was far enough away that I couldn't hear the parties or raids (whichever the day may behold). There wasn't much to the place, though. Then again, this was a completely different time. The barrier between human and demon world wasn't up yet, and there wasn't yet much for trade with western nations. It was a much simpler time. My "house" was really more of a small hut-the only "door" I had was makeshift, and there weren't hinges. After I led Yomi inside, I moved the "door" in front of the opening.

If one thought the outside was plain, the inside was even plainer. A futon in one corner and my few possessions in the other. I was embarrassed until I remembered that he couldn't see it. But he knew.

"Not exactly rich, are you?"

"Did you honestly expect much more?"

"It's nice."

"...Don't ever say that again."

"It's nice."

"Fuck you."

I was exhausted. He looked tired as well. Kicking off my shoes and crawling over to the futon, I lifted the blanket and got underneath it. He just stood there. Groaning, I got up and told him to take his shoes off, then led him to the bed with me.

"We're sleeping together?" He looked a bit uncomfortable.

I pulled the blanket over us. "Are you kidding?"

"What?"

"You're uncomfortable? Do you realize how much time I spent in front of you-naked?"

"I didn't see anything." He smiled. "I swear."

And call me what you like, but I laughed. I laughed so fucking hard.

[To Be Continued]

Please rate/review! I hope you enjoyed it thus far!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: I still don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, nor will I.

[Chapter 2:]

I'm certain my scream terrified nearby animals. I wasn't exactly looking at them though. I was too busy focusing on the source of the pain and blood, my face.

What happened, you ask? Well, thanks for your concern. Yomi had just punched me in the face. But let's back up a bit. This is going to take a bit of explaining to make complete sense.

A few days after his arrival into my life and home, it became apparent just how stubborn Yomi was, and how determined he was not to let his blindness define him. And while that was admirable in itself, I didn't hesitate to inform him-okay, yell at him-about how stupid he was being, leaving and exploring the area on his own. Multiple nights he'd come back-how, I will never understand-covered with scratches and bruises left behind from countless falls. And what I meant when I said "how, I will never understand", was simply referring to the fact that somehow he'd make it back at night without any aid. I suppose that should have been my first sign that I was dealing with someone special. He was determined to get stronger, despite his severe handicap, and I offered to help him the only way that I knew how.

Now, I wasn't that strong. I never really have been. I've merely been just fast enough to dodge hits, and just smart enough not to challenge some demons. I probably owe much of my continued existence at that time to Raizen. How Raizen and I managed to become friends is a story for another day. And though I had not been that much of a fighter beyond verbal abuse, there were a few near-death experiences that led me to start strengthening myself. I'm getting ahead of myself, though. By this point, I hadn't yet had those experiences, so again, I restate: I was not that strong. Still, I thought I could _attempt_ to help Yomi learn to fight, at least at the most basic level, and considering his blindness, we had to start somewhere.

Every day, I would lead him outside for these exercises. His first challenge was to strike me. For months, I managed to dodge his every attempt. But, like all good things, that eventually had to come to an end-and end it did. In retrospect, I've always wondered why I didn't make the first challenge "dodge my strikes." But, hey, I'm not a complete jackass. That was the second challenge.

Have you ever been punched in the face? To be more specific, have you ever been punched in the nose? If you've ever been punched in the face, you know that the worst part is the shock-there isn't much for physical pain, really. What makes taking a punch to the face bad is the mental shock that comes with it. Generally, the amount of shock is inversely proportional to how much you expect to get hit and the nature of the relationship between you and the person who hits you. If you expect your best friend to punch you in the face, it's going to hurt a bit, but you won't have much for mental shock (but there is the added question of "what the fuck is wrong with you?"). Now let's say your domestic partner, whom you know, love, and trust punches you in the face in a fit of rage for the first time. It's going to hurt some, but the real damage is emotional. You're not screaming and crying from the physical pain. You're screaming and crying because of the betrayal.

Now, if you've ever not only been punched in the face, but have more specifically had the "luxury" of being punched in the nose, you know that there is no fucking logic to that shit. It fucking hurts-no ifs, ands, or buts, and ninety percent of the time, you're screaming and crying like a little bitch because, again, it hurts like hell. The other ten percent of the time, you're not crying and screaming because you're either unconscious, on drugs, drunk, have that rare disorder that renders you unable to feel pain, are Raizen, or there's otherwise something seriously wrong with you.

So let's do the "math" here: Yomi was my friend, sort of. I didn't expect him to hit me, though this wasn't because of the fact that he was my friend. I expected him to try, of course, but not to succeed-or if he did succeed, I didn't expect it to happen so soon. You could argue that a few months had passed since the practice began, and it therefore was not "soon". Whatever. I still didn't expect it, okay? So when he finally does hit me, he doesn't just hit me in the face. We've already established that being hit in the face isn't really that big of a deal physically-speaking. No. He somehow managed to hit my nose, and I was in a whole new world of hurt. I think Yomi was just as shocked as I was, not physically speaking.

My eyes were squeezed shut as the volume of my screams lowered. Soon they were more like growls escaping through gritted teeth. I could feel blood leaking through my fingers. Was it broken? I prayed it wasn't. I'd involuntarily stepped back a few paces, and didn't realize that he'd closed the gap between us. Pulling me close, he wrapped one arm around my waist and the other around my head, resting his hand on top of it. It took me a minute to realize he was shaking. Realizing what was going on, I shoved him away. Hard.

"What the fuck are you laughing about?" I yelled, my teeth clenched both from pain and now from rage.

"I fucking hit you!" He looked like he might be having a hard time breathing.

I did what any self-respecting person would have done. I returned the favor, hitting him in the face hard enough that he fell over. After a few screams, he called me a cunt. I responded by calling him a piece of shit.

"Bitch!"

"Asshole!"

I heard him growl, then yell. Next thing I knew, he was up, barreling toward me. Grabbing my shoulders, he shoved me back, and my back hit the ground. He landed on top of me. For an undetermined amount of time, we fought, wrestling, punching, and kicking. There were no boundaries. Once, he pulled my hair to keep me from getting up, and another time, I grabbed one of the horns protruding from his forehead to bring his face closer so I could hit it again. I can't say how many times both of us got our faces smashed into the dirt.

It was just starting to get dark when we were both finally decided it wasn't worth it anymore to continue fighting. He'd just pushed me off of him. I hit the ground, but didn't get up. Instead, I just stayed there on my back, staring up at the sky. He was on the ground next to me. As the darkness continued to settle, I think all we could do while lying there on the ground was just hate each other, even if that didn't last long. Both of us were breathing heavily.

"You always dodge to the left." He said between gasps.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I rolled to the side, facing him, despite my complaining body.

He continued facing the sky. "Whenever I try to hit you for the first time, you always move to the left. That's how I knew where to hit you."

How do you respond to that? Oh, thanks for noticing my flaws? Thank you for punching me in the face to prove that I'm predictable? I said nothing.

After a few moments, he spoke again, "It's getting late."

"Oh give me a fucking break! How can you tell?"

He chuckled. "It's getting cooler. And the sounds of the animals are changing. They do that every night."

I listened. I couldn't hear anything special. It wasn't the first time he'd heard things that I couldn't, and it most definitely would not be the last. They say that when you lose one sense, your other senses change in an attempt to compensate for the one lost. I've never seen a better example of this happening than with Yomi. His hearing would grow to be amazingly astute. His other senses would also heighten to extreme levels.

Closing my eyes, I went back to lying on my back, still trying to hear the sounds of animals. I thought I heard one every now and again. Then I heard Yomi getting up, the ground crunched below his feet as he moved in my direction. A few more crunches, silence, and I then opened my eyes to see him leaning over me, hand extended. I sat up slowly and reached for his hand, flinching when he pulled me up. I knew we were going to paying for this brawl, especially in the next coming day.

During the walk home, we both held each other up at alternating points, though it seemed he was holding me up more often than the other way around. At one point, I found myself resting my head against his shoulder, remembering how when we'd first met I'd thought he was so tall. In reality, he wasn't really. He'd been sitting on a rock, so naturally, I was going to be lifted higher than I would have been if he'd been standing at the same level as I'd been. When we were level, my head reached his shoulder.

Still, he was somewhat large. Broad shoulders, particularly. But at least he wasn't overly bulky considering his muscular build. He wasn't the kind of guy whose muscles were clearly disproportionately large compared to his body. He would grow so much stronger as time went on, yet even then, he was broad and muscular, but still never disproportionately so.

Once we got to the hut, we crawled under the covers. I don't know about Yomi, but I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow. There was no talking, and certainly no apologies. We spent the next day continuing to hate each other as our bodies slowly healed from the damage. There was much verbal abuse.

[To be continued.]

Thank you for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! Please rate and/or review.


	3. Chapter 3

[One night:]

"I'm a freak."

I choked on the water I was drinking. It had been a couple decades, by this point, since Yomi had stumbled his way into my life. When I'd first met him, he had two ears, two horns on his forehead, and buds of horns on the top of his head (two on each side, one in the back). His horns had begun to get longer, and he was growing extra ears. Soon two ears would become six. I have no doubt that he grew four more ears so his body could compensate for his lack of eyesight. Demons sure are interesting. I've never heard of a human compensating to this sort of degree.

Yomi never expressed some of these feelings to others. I suppose he trusted me. And I trusted him.

"For the last fucking time, Yomi, you are not a freak." I said after getting over my choking spell. He wasn't convinced, so I continued: "There are some ugly demons out there. Real freaks. You aren't one of them. So don't let me hear you say that again."

"I'm a freak." He didn't mean it this time. I could hear the smile in his voice. Every single time I even suggested, or even demanded, that he not say something, he would do it anyway. I really should have stopped saying things like that.

I heard the rumble of thunder overhead following his statement.

"You know what? Whatever. You're a freak. But at least you're a useful freak. Now, where the fuck are you?" My "home" had no windows, and with the "door" in place, it could get pretty dark in there, especially at night or during storms, where the clouds blocked any source of light. Tonight was special, though. It was night time and storming. I couldn't even cross my eyes and see my nose. During these times, Yomi would help me maneuver my way through the dark. You might ask why I didn't just use a candle, but I tried. When it was this windy, it was impossible to keep a candle lit because the makeshift door didn't do too well blocking the wind.

"That hurts, you know."

I attempted to follow his voice, reaching out. "What hurts?"

"You called me a freak."

"Are you fucking serious?" It sounds like an angry question, but I was smiling. The floor of the hut was flat, which made it harder to distinguish where I was standing, and thanks to my stupidity, I'd probably spun around a couple times trying to reach Yomi. I had to admit that he was good to have around when it was this dark. If I had to get up, for whatever reason, such as to get a drink, he helped me to the water and from it, back to the bed. Now, you could argue, as I had often done, that he could simply bring me the water. But there's a problem with that: Yomi was merely helpful. He was not a saint. Besides, I have no doubt that he enjoyed my stumbling around in the dark. Thinking I'd just find a wall and work my way back from there, I took a step forward, preparing to take the next step. I was too confident.

I tripped over something. I bet it was my own shoes, so I at least figured I was near the entrance to the place.

Here's the thing about falling in the dark: You don't know what to try to protect. Maybe there's a table that you're about to hit. Maybe a children's toy. Or maybe there's nothing at all but the floor. But even if you tend to think rationally when you fall, you definitely tend to not do this while falling in the dark. Well, I at least was unable to do this by this point. Yomi could, but that's another story completely.

Speaking of Yomi, he caught me around the waist, preventing me from hitting the floor. "Careful." He said. I didn't thank him. He probably knew I'd trip, the jerk. He pulled me up to my feet. Once he led me to the bed, I pushed away from him and went to lie on my side.

"What was that for?"

"For laughing at me."

"I didn't!"

"No, but you wanted to, and that's just as bad."

"Well, maybe you should watch where you're going?"

"It's pitch-fucking-black, Yomi! I can't see a fucking thing!"

Silence. I could just _feel_ him thinking "Oh, and I can?", so I grabbed my pillow (I'd finally gotten a second) and beat him with it. Smack! He retaliated. Smack! I swung again. Smack! Both of us were cracking up.

We were definitely getting along much better by this point. I suppose that when you spend a couple decades together and have not killed one another by that point, you stop trying to do so. It turned out that beyond all of the fighting, we did have a lot in common. I daresay we were actually friends. We got along so well that neither of us even bothered to get a second futon for Yomi.

(Okay, that's partially a lie. We didn't get a second futon because we figured that my hut was so small that it would be pointless to waste potential storage space with it. Besides, more storage space was preferable to the both of us.)

Don't get me wrong. We still had our fights, still beat the crap out of each other on occasion, but that was just part of our relationship together. We'd get along for a while, tension would build up, we'd fight, and then we'd be back to getting along. What friendships haven't gone through this every now and again? Sure, our fights tended to be physical, but they weren't always so. There were plenty of verbal disputes.

It should be noted, however, that these fights were becoming few and far between as time went on.

After the pillow battle was over (we called it a draw), we lowered ourselves onto the futon and brought the covers up. We were still a bit too wired to go to sleep, so we faced each other and just started to talk about anything and everything that came to mind. There was no particular direction. Yomi started it off by asking something for which I have still yet to come up with an adequate response.

"How would you describe a color?"

"What?" I was confused.

"Well, I know what a color is because I've seen colors before. But if a person hasn't seen anything, like if they were born blind, and they asked you to describe the color purple, how would you do it?"

"What the fuck kind of question is this?"

"Just wondering."

I thought about it. Sure, I could say it was a pigment, or a shade, but that wouldn't adequately describe it. You can have a blind person feel the lines of a square object and come to know a square object from a circular one, but you can't touch something and say, "Oh, this is what purple feels like." And it's not like you could describe a particular color using other colors, considering the person would never have seen the color used to describe it. My mouth opened and shut as I tried to speak, tried to come up with an answer. Finally, I found words.

"Well, how would _you_ describe a color?" I countered.

"I'm not sure." Well, at least he could admit it. I didn't want to, at least not out loud.

It was silent for a few moments, until, finally, I came up with my own question, and blurted it out without even thinking: "How would you describe me?"

"What do you mean?"

Well, I figured it was headed in an awkward direction as it was, so I went ahead and pressed onward: "I mean, you've never seen me, so if someone asked you what I looked like, how would you respond?"  
I saw him grin. "Well, in order for me to be accurate, I'd have to thoroughly examine your body, I think." He moved closer. I pushed him away, calling him a creep. Both of us laughed lightly.

"What kind of answer did you expect, anyway?" he asked.

"I don't know, really."

"It's not like I could say that you were blond and had brown eyes. I mean, I could, but that wouldn't make it true. You could be lying. Anyone who told me what they looked like could be lying."

I didn't respond. Even though I wasn't lying, he had a good point. He continued.

"You could be completely hideous, even if you told me that you were beautiful."

"You sure know how to flatter a girl." I was grinning. "It's amazing that you're still single."

"Well, if you're absolutely hideous, and you're always with me, that could play a part." He raised his arms to defend himself as I attempted to hit him.

"You're a fucking jerk! Ugh!"

"Hey," he said, defending himself, "the same logic would apply even if you were beautiful."

I stopped hitting him long enough to wonder what exactly he was saying about me. He took advantage of this, of course.

Snickering, he added, "But you're probably hideous."

"Fuck you!" There was much more hitting prior to the time we finally fell asleep.

We had a lot of nights like this. Like I said, we talked about anything and everything. There were things, though, that we didn't yet touch on-such as delving too much into one another's past. I think we were both uncomfortable with sharing our own past, so instead of focusing on it, we let it be the past. At least for the time being. It was nice. Those were some of my favorite nights.


	4. Chapter 4

[A few days later:]

One of the things I learned about Yomi in, even in the short time that I'd known him, was that he sought power.

After the first decade, his senses had heightened so much that he didn't need any help at all exploring great distances on his own. His ability to get around was no longer based on the familiarity of his environment. His senses would only continue to become more sensitive to his surroundings. Accordingly, he became a much better fighter. I actually had to work my ass off to hit him and dodge his strikes.

Sometimes other demons would underestimate his abilities, their focus solely on his being blind, and both of us drew great satisfaction from Yomi proving their assumptions incorrect, to put it nicely. To put it bluntly, he kicked their asses. Word had begun to spread about a blind demon who could fend for himself. Some demons hated him for his abilities. Others came to fear him. A third group of demons saw him as the leader he was capable of becoming. He gained a number of allies, friends, and enemies.

At first, I had teased him about gaining power. His determination, however, shocked me and I went from teasing him to cheering him on. I'd even travel with him to nearby villages so that he could continue to prove himself as both a leader and a fighter. We were heading home from one of those villages, in fact, the first time Yomi saved my life.

[...]

"People are disappearing?" I stopped walking.

Yomi stopped too. He looked like he was concentrating, so I waited. After a few seconds, he nodded. "Yes. That's what they're saying, anyway. Humans and demons." Two demons had walked by us, looking worried. I barely caught any of the conversation, but Yomi had heard what they were saying, and continued to hear them even despite a considerable distance between us and them. I waited to see if there was more information until he shook his head. "I can't hear them anymore."

"Did they at least say where the people were disappearing from?" We began to walk again.

"No."

We continued on in silence. It wasn't by any means unusual for a demon to attack both humans and demons. It happened all the time. Demon World was a dangerous place before Raizen, Yomi, and Mukuro took power. Even afterward, it was still often pretty dangerous. There were all sorts of wars between different groups of demons. Sure, there were human wars too. After all, this was the time before the barrier between human world and demon world was set up. However, human wars hardly impacted demons, except to reduce our food supply.

Yomi and I were on our way back home from another village. The village we'd visited consisted of both humans and demons, which was a fairly rare sight considering that demons eat humans. Humans tend to flee when demons come near, as you might expect, so you can probably see why places with both humans and demons living in "harmony" rarely existed. But I must clarify: the humans and demons in those villages didn't exactly live in "harmony". It was more like "conditional peace." The humans would tend to offer the demons their criminals, and in exchange for not having to work for their food, the demons would let the humans live, and sometimes even protect them, so long as they remained useful. At least, that was how the particular village that we had just left worked. I could only speculate that other villages that contained both human and demon inhabitants worked in a similar fashion.

We were traveling through the mountains that surrounded the villages nearest the hut, the mountain route being shorter than any other route to get home since it went straight through the mountain and not around it. The path going around the mountain was the official path, and by official, I mean that that was the one that the humans (and most demons) used to travel due to the nature of the mountain path. It was more risky. There were countless drop-offs, little to grab on to if you fell, and the ground was rough and uneven. I couldn't tell you the number of times I nearly fell off of one of the paths. You'd figure I'd die sooner or later. And indeed, I nearly did.

The path had begun to narrow, eventually becoming so thin that it forced Yomi and I to walk single-file. There was a river below us, the water moving swiftly. It was quiet other than the sound of the river and the sound our feet made hitting the dirt path. Combine that with the cool, crisp air of the mountain, and I would have described it as peaceful, really.

"It's kinda nice up here." I pointed out.

Yomi had been walking ahead of me, and he stopped, causing me to nearly bump into him since I was paying too much attention to the scenery. He lifted his head to face the sky, and I looked up too to see if he'd heard anything up there.

"Yes. It is nice." He finally said. "The sun balances out with the coolness down here. It's perfect. Not too hot. Not too cold."

I had to admit that when Yomi would describe his surroundings, I would gain a new appreciation for them. Sometimes I would catch myself wondering if I might be a little bit jealous of Yomi's blindness. What, I would wonder, must it be like to experience, rather than simply see, one's surroundings? Yomi, though blind, would notice so much about the environment that I wouldn't even think about.

We stood there for a few moments in silence, appreciating the serenity. Then deciding that it was time to continue, Yomi turned and continued walking and I followed.

Suddenly, something came from behind, wrapped around my ankle, and tugged my foot out from under me. I landed hard on my chest and stomach, my jaw slamming into the ground just as hard. Stunned, I didn't even have time to think as I found myself being pulled quickly over the edge. There was nothing for me to grab onto or to even slow myself down; Yomi spun and dived toward me, grabbing my wrist as I went over. The thing was still pulling and Yomi braced himself against the edge of the path, placing one hand flat on the ground to steady himself in an attempt not to be pulled over with me. I couldn't tell if I shrieked due to the pain of being pulled from both ends or the terror I felt. Probably both.

Definitely both.

I looked down at my ankle. It was a tentacle of some sort that was wrapped around it. It was extending out of the water. The demon underneath the water that was connected to the tentacle almost looked like a person, if you ignored the fact that he had tentacles for arms, that is. Another one came shooting out of the water, wrapping itself around my waist, pulling me down harder. Looking back up at Yomi, I saw him straining and grunting against the pull. But he couldn't hold onto me forever, not if he didn't want to come toppling off the ledge with me. And that was only a matter of time. All it would take was one more tentacle pulling on me.

I convinced myself that if I was going to die, I would at least try to give Yomi a chance to live. I swallowed, and, voice shaking, I told him to let go of me.

He refused, but I was sure that even he realized that his refusal wasn't going to amount to much if this kept up. After a few more moments of struggle, Yomi trying to keep me from being dragged under the surface of the water, and me kicking and thrashing against the demon's tentacles, the battle ended. Yomi lost.

My wrist slipped from Yomi's grasp and the next thing I knew, I couldn't breathe. I was underwater.

I did everything I could to pry myself away from the grip. I was panicking, and the tentacles were hard to grasp. Because of my panic, I wasn't thinking clearly enough to even use my own powers. It was that mistake on my part that perhaps played the most significant role in nearly ending my life. I heard a splash next to me but I was paying too much attention to trying to get away from the monster's grip to see who it was. Out of nowhere, the grip loosened, and I swam up to the surface, desperately in need of air.

I was so close to salvation, I could see the surface getting closer and closer to me, but I didn't make it. I had to have been mere inches from the surface of the water when I was once again pulled down by one of the tentacles. I didn't fight it this time, though. I couldn't. It was too late. I had no oxygen. And the surface became farther and farther away.

Some demons possess the ability to breathe underwater. Some demons even have the ability to hold their breaths for an extended period of time. I wasn't (and still am not) special in this regard. My tolerance for a lack of oxygen might be greater than a human's, but it would still take a considerably short time for me to drown or suffocate. In this case, I knew, I just knew, I was going to die.

Seconds seemed to pass like hours. I continued to sink, but it was slower than it had been before. I could feel the tension of the grip on me fluxuating. It was because Yomi was attempting to kill it. Opening my eyes, I caught a glimpse of Yomi fighting this thing and the strangest thought occurred to me.

Here I was dying, and when I saw Yomi fighting the demon that would cause my death, all I could do, for a split second, was wonder how it was that Yomi was able to battle underwater, considering his speed was reduced and his senses would have been dulled. There was also the added fact that he'd only be able to fight so long as he could tolerate the lack of oxygen (and it turned out that he held a much higher threshold in that regard than I did). Still, I'd be damned if he wasn't _trying_ to fight this thing despite all of that. Even underwater, he was surprisingly quick, punching this slightly humanoid-like monster in the face quicker than I would have thought possible, considering the resistance of the water.

Darkness started to creep into my vision. I saw a bright green blast of energy coming from one of Yomi's hands and making direct and full contact with the other demon's face. The tentacle around me went slack. Despite the fact that I was so close to drowning, I wasn't panicking, though I also didn't swim toward the surface either. I felt detached from my body, in a sense. It was almost peaceful. The last thing I saw was Yomi turning and swimming toward me. The last thing I felt was Yomi grabbing my wrist and the silk-like water surrounding me.

[...]

I don't know how long I was unconscious, but I do know that it was long enough that Yomi was panicking. At least, he appeared as though he'd been panicking.

We didn't have or know about CPR at that time, so what could Yomi have done that managed to bring me back to consciousness? Simple. He punched me in the gut. Multiple times. Coughing, choking, and sputtering up water, I curled into a ball, holding my stomach. My sudden gasp for air was loud and harsh. I also ended up coughing so much, and so hard, that I vomited until nothing was left. An optimist might joke that at least I knew there was nothing left inside of me, inside of my lungs, or my stomach, but I'm glad such a person wasn't there at the time because if someone had said something like that to me then, I would have murdered them.

Once I finally stopped struggling with the dry-heaving and coughing, I sat still, with my eyes closed, for a few moments to compose myself. Yomi had held my hair as I retched and rubbed my back as I coughed. Afterward, he had put his hands on my upper arms, holding them lightly, as if he were trying to steady me. I appreciated it. The silence was nice, at least until I heard the water flowing.

My eyes snapped open and I turned. I shouldn't have been surprised that we were so close to the river, as it would have made no sense to walk away from it before trying to prevent someone from dying. Still, I didn't want to be anywhere near it anymore. I didn't even say anything. I just got up and ran away from it as fast as I could. I didn't stop running until I got home. I didn't know or care then whether or not Yomi followed me. He did. He arrived not long after I had gotten there. I was nearly hysterical, the realization that I could have died fully dawning on me. I could have died. I almost died. I almost drowned.

Raizen decided to make an appearance right before Yomi got there. I was an absolute mess at that point. Raizen arrived with Kokou, but immediately left her side and came to mine when he saw me.

"Whoa, Rein. What happened?" He gently pulled my hands away from my face, where they had come to rest. I was too upset to respond. I just hugged his neck, trying as hard as I could not to have a full-blown panic attack. And that is when Yomi finally arrived. Shocked at first, I'm sure, Raizen wrapped his arms around me tightly, and I buried my face in his shoulder.

"What the _fuck_ happened to her?" Raizen screamed to Yomi. "What the fuck did you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything to her!"

"Oh, really? Then why is she hugging me? She doesn't hug people. I've never seen her hug anyone, even when she's upset. I've fucked her countless times, and now, oh _now_ she hugs me. Something happened. She's terrified. What. The. Fuck. Happened?" He was pissed.

"The only thing I did to her was save her life!" Yomi yelled back. "If it wasn't for me, she'd be dead!" There was that word. _Dead_.

"I knew she should never have helped you! I knew it!" He was being a bit irrational, but I couldn't say if I wouldn't have been either, if I had arrived and saw a friend in the near-catatonic state in which I'd been. I didn't want them to fight, but I wasn't exactly in the sort of mental state to speak sensibly. Besides, they'd probably fight regardless of what I said, and one of them would probably die as a result. That thought, that fear, shot through my body and my mind.

And that's when the panic attack started. I felt like I couldn't breathe, and that only further reminded me of how I'd felt when I was panicking and trying not to drown. My breaths were coming in hard gasps, and no matter how many breaths I took, it felt like I had no oxygen within me. My chest hurt. It felt like someone was crushing it, squeezing my heart. Each beat hurt. I felt like I was just going to go ahead and die, pure fear and adrenaline coursing through my veins. I moved my arms toward my chest and my legs trembled.

Raizen shot me a worried look and grabbed my upper arms, shaking me lightly. He said something that didn't register to me, then shook me again, a little bit rougher that time around.

"Rein. Rein. Look at me. Look." He grabbed my jaw with one hand, directing my head to face him. "Everything's going to be fine." His gaze shifted to where Yomi was standing. "Especially after I kill that son of a bitch."

Yomi responded with a growl. "I'd like to see you fucking try."

It was Kokou who spoke up next:

"Stop. Both of you. Neither of you are helping." Walking over to me, she grabbed the corked gourd that was tied around her waist and uncorked it. "Drink," she instructed. I did. It turned out to be sake. Both Yomi and Raizen protested this new development as I coughed from the burn of alcohol.

"What?" Kokou asked. "Neither of you were doing anything, and if this helps her calm down, then why the fuck not?"

The sensation of the burning itself was enough to snap me out of my panic attack. The feeling came back, though, when I took a step back from Raizen and he moved past me over to where Yomi was. Instead of gasping for air, though, this time I just sobbed, loud and hard. Kokou, this stranger I barely even knew or I barely even talked to over the past two decades, held me as I sank to my knees.

"Please!" I begged, the word breaking into pieces as I continued to sob. "Please don't fight! Please!"

Yomi and Raizen were giving each other the most hate-filled looks that they could muster. After a moment, during which the tension was palpable, the two broke their expressions and crossed their arms, neither of them wanting to acknowledge the other. They walked over to where Kokou and I sat. Kokou and Yomi talked about what had happened, and while Raizen may have realized that he'd been wrongfully upset with Yomi, he didn't say anything about it.

It took some time for my sobs to die down. Part of the reason that I calmed was probably that the alcohol was finally starting to kick in and my thoughts were slowing down. Kokou tried to pull me up to a standing position, but I wasn't yet ready for that. I hugged my knees instead. She asked me if it was okay if she and Raizen left, and I nodded. I didn't really want Raizen to leave, but I didn't want there to be further risk of the two men fighting. It was then that I finally stood and squeezed Raizen's neck in a hug once again. He made a promise that he would be back to see me soon. I nodded again, and they left. I watched them walk away until I couldn't see them anymore through the trees.

I jumped when Yomi put a hand on my shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

I turned to face him. "Define 'okay'." That got a small chuckle out of him. Before he could say anything else, I closed the short gap between us, and threw my arms around his torso. His arms were around me almost as fast. I could feel the tears coming again.

"I could've died." I said.

"I know."

"I thought I was going to."

"Me too."

"I should have fought harder. I… I didn't think…" I looked up at him and added, "Thank you… For coming after me… You saved my life."

"You don't need to thank me."

"I do, though. You had no reason-"

"No reason?" He asked as though he were offended.

"You could have left me behind. You wouldn't have had to put your own life at risk, I mean."

He looked conflicted, as if he couldn't decide whether or not he was going to say anything else. After a moment, he let out a breath and said, "...I had a reason," and before I could ask what it was, he held my chin up and his lips met mine.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: I removed the explicit sex scene from this chapter, so there's a skip. The full version of this story can be found elsewhere. The sex scenes, due to 's rules regarding explicit content, will be removed. I'm sorry.

[Chapter 5:]

I blinked, shocked.

Yomi could have told me that his reason for saving my life was simply because we were friends and that's what friends did for each other. He could have said that he saved me because he would have felt guilty otherwise. He could have responded that saving my life was the right thing to do because I'd helped him out so much in the past couple decades. He could have said anything else, or any combination of the aforementioned ideas, but he didn't. He kissed me. He fucking kissed me.

And I enjoyed it.

At first, I thought it was some kind of sick joke. I pulled back and scanned his face for any signs of some impending pun. He looked confused, misinterpreting what I had done.

"I made you uncomfortable?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"What? No. No, you didn't." I realized at this point (and hoped) that this wasn't a joke. It wouldn't make sense if it was, anyway. A joke of this caliber probably would have destroyed me, and, as much as Yomi could be an ass sometimes, I was certain he'd never sink that low.

I moved my arms so I could hug his neck. Then, placing one hand on his right cheek, I repeated what I had said before. "You didn't make me uncomfortable. I… I liked that." To further convince him, I added, "Can we… do it again?"

That did the trick. He lowered his head and kissed me again, softly. I pulled away again. He definitely looked confused this time.

"Is something wrong?"

"I don't want to be treated like some delicate princess who'll fall apart if you're a little too rough, Yomi. Just because I almost died doesn't mean that you have to treat me like some fragile doll."

He laughed, attempting to kiss me again. I stopped him with my hand.

"Inside." That was all I had to say. We went into the hut and moved the makeshift door in front of the entrance. I was feeling pretty nice, probably thanks to the sake I'd consumed earlier. Even Yomi must have realized that the sake was hitting me, as my coordination was slightly off, but he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he moved toward me and pushed me against a wall before he started to kiss me again, probably making sure I wouldn't be able to step away from him this time around. I closed my eyes, welcoming it.

The kiss wasn't as soft as the first couple had been. Our lips were smashed together hard enough that neither of us had a choice but to part them. Our tongues danced together as we savored the taste and depth of the kiss. Both of us had a hold on the other's face to make sure that this kiss wouldn't break. Our breathing became more noticeable as the minutes ticked by. He let out a breath loudly and I moaned into the kiss, feeling a pang of arousal in my lower abdomen. I lowered my hands from his face to grip his top, pulling, so our bodies were pressed together. He moved forward, nestling one of his legs between mine and I could feel him getting hard against my thigh. I was starting to feel pretty warm, not to mention increasingly sensitive to touch.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Yomi asked me between kisses and gasps of breath. My response was something along the lines of "Fuck, yes."

He trailed his hands down my neck to my torso and began to explore my body as we continued to make out. I started to grind against the leg between mine and another pang of arousal hit me when I heard a low moan escape from him. He then pulled away and stopped me when I tried to pull him back toward me. I protested until I realized what he was doing. He was taking his clothes off, letting them drop into a neat pile. I did the same, our clothes sitting in the same pile.

He placed his hands on my shoulders and spun me around so my back was toward him and I was facing the corner where the futon lay on the floor. He nudged my head to the side with his cheek so he could nip at my ear and I leaned back into him.

"You're sure you want to do this?" His breath in my ear only turned me on more. I shivered.

"So help me, if you do _not_ fuck me, Yomi, I will murder you."

He chuckled in my ear. "Is that a threat?"

"It's a promise."

"And you're alright with a little roughness…"

I wanted to explain to him that I had been fucked by Raizen and it was far from dainty, but I figured that wouldn't be the right thing to say.

"Have at me." I responded.

It was silent for a moment, and then he pushed me toward the bed hard enough that I fell onto it. As I rolled over onto my back, he kicked my legs apart and knelt between them. He moved over me and kissed my lips hard, and we went back to making out. I hugged his neck, arching my back and pulling so that our bodies would touch, but he pushed me back down. Breaking the kiss, he moved my head to the side again and nibbled at my earlobe, then my neck. His hands made their way to my breasts and massaged them. My moaning only egged him on.

His thumbs began to play with my nipples, teasing them. Then he moved his head down, nipping at various parts of my neck and shoulders before reaching my breasts. I found my hands getting lost in his hair as he bit and sucked both of my nipples. I wanted so much more, but when he started to descend to my lower body. I grabbed his head to stop him.

"No, you can't do that." My limbs were trembling, my body aching for it.

"Why?"

"Because. I'm not… Not exactly quiet when…" I didn't really want to say it, but it was the truth. Raizen and I had found out the hard way.

Yomi just grinned his response and continued to go south. I was torn between embarrassment and desire. I grabbed the pillow I wasn't laying on and covered my face to at least stifle any sound that came from my mouth. Yomi snatched it and threw it across the room.

[Explicit Sex Scene Removed]

Yomi then crawled off to grab the pillow he'd thrown earlier. He came back both with the pillow and with a cloth. We used that to clean ourselves up. We were too hot to cover ourselves at that time, so we just lay together on our backs with the blanket at our feet.

"So…" Yomi rolled to his side to face me and trailed a finger from my hip to the center of my chest.

"If you're going to make fun of how loud I was, don't."

"I wasn't." He smirked. "I was just wondering if there are any other _situations_ that make you that loud."

"I'm not fucking telling you." I would have smacked him with my pillow, but I was too tired.

"I'll take that as a yes."


	6. Chapter 6

For a long time, I was terrified of water. I would bathe, but it would typically be in the shallowest spot in the hot spring, where the water barely met my knees, and either Raizen or Yomi would have to come with me. Still, sometimes I'd even panic in the shallow water. This night was one of those nights, and my anxiety had met the limit if Raizen's patience. Once my panic attack ceased and I had gotten out of the water, he grabbed my arm, clearly angry.

"Raizen, what's wrong?" I asked.

His voice was close to a growl. "You need to go in the deeper water, Rein."

"I-I don't think-"

"You can't be afraid of water forever!" He started to pull me back toward the hot spring, toward the deeper area. I tried to resist, pleading for him to let me go. I even tried to dig my feet into the soil and tense my muscles. He just yanked on my arm, causing me to fall over, and dragged me across the ground. I shrieked when he lifted me over his head and threw me into the water.

I immediately scrambled to stand, discovering I was in water up to my shoulders. I coughed and spat out water. As I was trying to get the hell out of there, Raizen stepped in front of me and wrapped his arms around me. I cried as I struggled against him, beating his chest with my fists as hard as I could. His hold on me didn't loosen.

It took a long time for me to calm down. When my anger subsided, my fear took control and I hugged his neck and wrapped my legs around him like a child, weeping, but that didn't bother him. By the time my sobs began to settle down, he was holding me with one arm while using the other to scoop water into his hand and let it pour into my hair.

As I lowered my legs, I could tell I wasn't the only one who had calmed down.

"I'm sorry." He poured another scoop of water into my hair. "I shouldn't have gotten so angry."

"No… I understand. I'd have done the same thing, I guess."

He chuckled at that. "You wouldn't."

"What? I would so!" I let go of him for a moment, then grabbed his arm for comfort.

"That would require you be able to catch me, you know."

"Ha ha ha. Aren't you funny?"

"You'd also have to be able to pick me up and throw me."

"You know what I meant!"

"Then again," he moved toward me, grabbing my hips and pressing his body against mine. "With that body, I'd probably just follow you." His voice was low, seductive almost.

I smirked and stepped away.

"We could, you know." He pulled me toward him again, clearly referring to sex. "I could make you scream… Like I usually do…" He grinned.

"And what about Kokou?"

He snorted. "She wouldn't give two shits. You could ask, if you wanted."

"And what about Yomi?"

"What about him? It's not like you're fucking him." My look must have said everything. "Oh…"

I stepped back again.

"Oh!" He repeated, as if this was some big epiphany. "Twenty years and you finally fuck the guy!"

"Shut up, Raizen." I said it to be mean, but I was smiling and blushing.

"Was he any good?"

"Why the fuck would you care?!"

He snickered. "So…He wasn't?"

"He was better than good." I crossed my arms

"But was he… Bigger than me?" Raizen was laughing now.

I threw my hands up in the air and my next words dripped with sarcasm. "Oh _no_, Raizen. _Never_. Your dick is the biggest dick I've ever seen so please, _oh please_, fuck me with your massive cock, why don't you?"

"...Well it seems I've come at the wrong time." Yomi. Fuck.

Raizen was absolutely hysterical, and I could feel my face getting hot. I turned to Yomi. He wore a smirk.

"What in the fuck are you doing here?!

"Interrupting, apparently." Raizen fell into another laughing fit. "Really, though, I was just coming to get you. You didn't come home around the time that you usually do, so I came looking. If you'd like me to leave-"

"No. I'm coming." I walked out of the water and grabbed my kimono, slipping it around my body. I had pants, but I just carried them.

I was surprised that Yomi didn't make a comment about what he'd heard between Raizen and me. Instead, he pointed out something completely different.

"You finally went into the deeper water."

I blinked, not expecting him to talk about that. I'd almost forgotten myself.

"Yeah, well, it wasn't by choice originally. Raizen kinda threw me into it… Literally."

"But you didn't look worried when I was there and you were getting out."

"How in the ever-loving fuck do you know what I looked like?"

"That's hard to explain."

"Try?"

He said he couldn't. Later on, he tried explaining it to me, and it sounds something like sonar waves bouncing off of an object and projecting it back to the radar. That's the closest way that I can describe what had become Yomi's "vision".

It wasn't until we got back home and were lying together that he referred to the conversation between Raizen and myself.

"Why didn't you have sex with him?"

I had just closed my eyes to go to sleep, but when he asked that, my eyes shot open and I rolled over to face him. "Should I have?"

"Well, you've done it before haven't you?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't sleeping with anyone else at the time when I did."

"Ah."

"And I'm sure you've fucked your share of women. Especially considering that you were working with Youko Kurama. How many women did you fuck during that time?"

He was silent. I didn't understand why, but I could tell I'd struck a nerve. We lay there in silence for some time before I felt bad enough to speak.

"I made you mad?" I reached out to him and he grabbed my arm and pulled me close.

"You didn't make me mad."

"Then why'd you stop talking?"

"I don't want to talk about it right now."

I wanted to press, but I thought better of it.

I didn't realize it at the time, but Yomi had a suspicion that Youko Kurama had led to his becoming blind, had hired the demon that took his sight. He held a bitterness toward Kurama even then that would not begin to dissipate until nearly a millennium later. But that's a story for another day.


End file.
